The Forgotten Man
So Jesus Montero is gone and so Gary Sanchez had his ups and downs in 2011, so we start talking about the incredible Mason Williams. Listen, I love Williams and his athleticism makes me drool, but we’re forgetting someone. This player, the forgotten man, he’s the same age as Williams, he stole bases at a much better rate, he hit for far more power, had slightly better contact, and maintained the same sort of walk rate. He’s Tyler Austin and no one seems to love him.
Photo by Scott Tidlund
After a broken wrist in 2010, Austin split his 2011 season between the Gulf Coast League and Staten Island, where he put up a .354/.418/.579 triple slash with 6 homeruns and 18 stolen bases without a single caught stealing. The only difference I see between Austin and Williams’ numbers are the 89 plate appearances the third baseman had in rookie ball, still the majority of his season was spent on the same team as Mason where he put up arguably better numbers. Now I won’t say Austin is a better prospect than Williams, because that’s simply not true, but my concern is when I fail to see Austin on the majority of prospect lists.
Bullpen Banter had two writers come up with their own top 15 prospect lists, however both failed to list Tyler Austin in either list nor mention him in their discussions. MLB.com’s top 20 prospects didn’t list Austin until number 15, six and seven spots behind first round picks Dante Bichette Jr, who posted slightly worse numbers in a lower level, and Cito Culver, who produced worse numbers at the same level. Then there is Baseball America, Bronx Baseball Daily, and Beyond the Boxscore who didn’t even mention Mr. Austin in their top 10 or following write up. This isn’t to say these are bad sources, in fact I’ve mentioned three of my favorite blogs in the previous sentence, but I think there is a lack of hype around a player without a high draft pick or a big bonus. Of the major sources, only John Sickels gave him a good look, ranking him 9th and adding, “I don’t know why this guy doesn’t get more attention.”
The point is that, prospect lists are great cheat sheets, but there are exciting prospects that fans have to go digging around for. Tyler Austin is the one guy I want to defend the most, but perhaps you have a prospect as well. In the near future, TYA will release our own 2012 prospect list and hopefully it stirs up more discussions and names that demand more respect from us fans. *Cough* Branden Pinder *Cough* So who do you guys think is the most forgotten prospect?
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Keith Law had him as the 5th best prospect in the Yankee system
I’ve often wondered why I don’t gear more about Austin. Thanks for raising this issue.
Branden Pinder is also one I’d like to hear more about. Thanks.
Keith Law had him as the #5 prospect and had this brief write-up on him:
Third baseman Tyler Austin has turned himself into a pretty good defender over there, defying earlier predictions he’d have to move to first; he has a whole-field approach to hitting with pull power right now, and runs well for his size with a perfect stolen-base record in the pros.
Yea I have to give kudos to Keith Law. I wrote the piece slightly before his list, and I’m happy to see someone was willing to go so bullish on him. Nice find.
I agree, most people slightly underestimate Austin. He has put up good numbers at the lowest levels but you cant judge a prospect on numbers alone. Ive watched some video of his swing, baserunning, and fielding abilities and im not overly impressed. He has although done better than I thought he would when he was drafted. I look forward to seeing him play against better competition. My most forgotten prospect is Ravel Santana. He isnt really forgotten but I think he has a higher upside than most think.
If he can stay healthy he’s got some incredible potential at an elite position. If he has so much power with a 160 lb 6’2″ frame and at 19 years old, imagine what he could put up in a couple years.
So I’m a prospect skeptic. Not about Austin, but about ANY player before he reaches AA. There’s a reason why teams demand major-league ready talent in trades: too many of the highly-touted prospects below that level never make it. I’ll curb my enthusiasm, than you, until Austin, Bichette, Williams, et al. reach Trenton in a couple of years.